Artemis Fowl: The Dragon Hunt
by Skeptica
Summary: You'd think a kid would be happy after cheating fairies of so much gold... but not Artemis... now he's after Dragon's treasure...
1. The Dragon

Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Artemis Fowl, Or Any Of Its Characters etc.

A/N: I've re-started the story :). Review!

**Artemis Fowl: The Dragon Hunt**

**Chapter 1 : The Dragon**

He could see it very clearly.

_The huge glistening golden mass lay at the entrance of a cave, barely visible in the white snow. On closer inspection, it could be seen that it had a huge snout, whiskers, and closed eyelids which were as huge as a mans fist. On the whole, it strongly resembled a huge golden pig with whiskers. And wings._

He took a step closer, sure it was asleep.

After days without sleep, days of following the tireless creature, he was now so near to completing his task. Success was imminent, and he could hear his heart beating heavily, the excitement welling up within him.

He was just so close!

_...the magnificent creature!_

This mans name was Stephen Io, a well-known photographer who had won countless awards. Months ago, he had received an e-mail from a guy who had signed himself off as _'Deemweed'_. The mail itself was uninteresting, containing only a few words: I found this in Antarctica.

However, what had led on to weeks and weeks of hard work, and countless visits to the state library for every available book with the word 'Dragon', had started from the photograph attached to the mail. The photograph showed an inexpertly taken picture of something... _golden_. It was blurry, yet the beauty of the creature was obvious.

As soon as he saw it, he just _knew_ he had to snap a picture of the magnificent creature himself. The nagging thought it could all have been a prank had surfaced countless of times, but he had reasoned with himself an equally countless number of times that nobody, absolutely nobody, on earth could have made a picture that beautiful and complete. It was something out of the world.

Seeing the creature, he was glad, not for the first time in his life, that he had believed in his heart.

Inching forward now, as quietly as he could, he slowly brought the camera up to eye level, his hands shaking slightly.

It was as he was about to press the button, the only barrier separating him from being the most anxious man on earth and becoming the happiest man on earth, that disaster struck. He could feel it creeping up on him, and tried desperately to control it, but failed.

He tried to make it as quiet as possible, and it seemed to listen at first...

"aaah... aaaah... ah..."

Then, the sneeze, seeming to have a mind of its own, changed it at the last possible moment...

"AH-CHOO!"

Stephen crossed his toes - his hands were full - and hoped with all his might that the creature was a deep sleeper.

_...it opened its eyes._

It was now or never.

"CHEESE!"

There was a click, a flash, followed by a large roar which set an avalanche off somewhere down the mountain. And the last thing Stephen remembered as he fell to the ground, eyes half closed, despite the pain searing across his chest, was, "I'm truly the happiest man on earth right now." Ahh... bliss!

Less than a second later, he hit the ground, a smile on his lips.

_...the creature looked at him with a face which seemed to show some pity (like when you just squashed an ant and feel as if you just murdered something). It laid a single talon on him, and muttered a few words. Magical sparks erupted from the end of that talon and blue sparks danced across Stephens chest. Then, spreading it's wings, it took flight with grace which could not be believed of a creature of its size. It was last heard saying, in something when translated to the human tongue, sounded vaguely like, "I think I need sunglasses."_

Stephen was found the next morning, camera in hands, the smile still plastered across his lips.

... the dragon was gone, and so was the cave.


	2. A New Search

Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Artemis Fowl, Or Any Of Its Characters etc. (basically, don't sue)

A/N: Yay, another chapter. Umm… I'd like to add that I don't watch the news at all, I read the papers and surf the net for latest news. Sometimes, it's just by word of mouth. Yeah.

**Artemis Fowl: The Dragon Hunt**

**Chapter 2 : A New Search**

Artemis heaved a sigh. The news on TV these days were getting boring. He could see why news channels had lost out to all the other entertainment shows, reality series for example. It was getting so dry, and there was never anything new, or at least, nothing worth much attention.

There were days in the past where he would be watching the news earnestly and eagerly, on not just one, but many screens. However, that had stopped soon after father had returned. There just didn't seem to be any reason to do so after that.

Artemis reached for the remote on his desk and prepared to switch it off. However, the latest news update caught his attention.

_TDH News Flash? : blah blah blah… Stephen Io… blah blah blah… found in Antarctica… blah… well - known… blah… claims there are… blah blah… following a… blah blah… described it as a… blah blah blah… dragon treasure… (news achor smothers a laugh)… now in intensive care…blah… huge cuts which seemed to have healed overnight…blah blah… now lets move on to…_

Well, you get the idea.

Another guy who believes in magical creatures and decided to go looking for it, briefly summarizes what was going through Artemis' mind then.

However, there was something about that tilted photograph behind the news anchor which striked him. It wasn't all that magnificent, yet Artemis knew a magical creature when he saw one. There was also most positively some magical interference. Artemis knew of no other way a wound could seemingly heal that fast.

Curiously, Artemis rolled over to the computer and keyed in the word 'Dragon' into the search box.

_123, 456, 789 hits._

He changed his search to 'Dragon' and 'Treasure' and 'Antarctica'

_100, 001 hits._

That was something. Artemis entered what looked like a useful site. It turned out to be a story written by a five year old about his adventures with his pet dragon. Useless.

Frowning a little, Artemis added two more words to his search.

_1, 221 hits._

He entered the first site which appeared.

_Welcome to Skeptica's Timeless Treasures_

**_The Stupid Little Girl_**

He scrolled downwards till something caught his attention.

_"Papa, do dragons really do exist?"_

_"Of course, my child," was Papa's reply._

_The child looked dreamily up at the sky. "Someday, I will claim the Dragon's treasure… the treasure in the ugly bad dragon's cave."_

_"I'll slash it here, and I'll slash it there…"_

Of course, the story ended with the stupid little girl being killed by the dragon. Typical of stories, really.

"Hmm… Arty, aren't you a little too old for fairy tales?"

Artemis turned around in surprise. He hadn't heard his father come in.

"Father, I…"

"Well, it's nice to know you're behaving like a normal kid, at any rate," his father said, a bemused smile on his face. "Don't stay up too late."

Artemis looked down at his hands, a slight flush on his pale cheeks. What _could _he tell his father? That he was interested in the treasure of some magical creature? Even as he said it in his head it sounded absurd. He heard the door close.

Artemis felt angry with himself. Father would think that he was still some kid. He hadn't wanted his father to think of him like that… at that moment, Artemis suddenly felt very small and insignificant. He had never felt that way before. A large part of him just wanted to find a hole and hide.

It took him some time to regain his composure.

It was just as well. At least that wouldn't raise his father's suspicions. He had to get a grip on himself. Seriously, what was going on with him these days?

Shaking his head, Artemis tried to concentrate on the task at hand. Of course, fairy – tales were probably the best place to start looking for anything seemingly supernatural. It was true that after millions of years, the stories tended to get a little distorted with Elves being barely two hands tall and helping a shoemaker make fine shoes, but, certain truths still remained.

Artemis went on to the next site. It turned out to be about some bloke blogging about his adventures with a dragon in his backyard. That gave Artemis an idea.

He added another two words to his search and hoped it would be the last search.

"Bingo."

Artemis smiled. What easier way was there to get his information from Stephen Io's own website? Still smiling, he began to read. Stephen Io didn't seem to be a person who kept many secrets.


	3. The Tale Unfolds

Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Artemis Fowl, Or Any Of Its Characters etc. (basically, don't sue)

A/N: Wasn't sure when I wanted to bring Holly out or if I even wanted her to meet Artemis all that early in the story... I suppose and I'll just type and see how it goes... my brain dosen't seem to be working much today.

**Artemis Fowl: The Dragon Hunt**

**Chapter 3 : The Tale Unfolds**

Captian Holly Short was not in a good mood. She had been busy the whole morning dealing with five particularly stupid goblins. The fivesome had decided that it would have been a wonderfully brilliant idea to burn a hole in the roof of the rather unfortunate deli they had chosen as a quick form of escape when they realized they didn't have any cash. They had never got round to climbing up the roof which was more than three times their height. Their plan had been thwarted when the place started burning and the roof fell in on them.

A few hours later, Holly was finally back at Police Plaza, with the goblins safely behind bars. She was obviously not going to be granted the few minutes rest she suddenly wanted.

"Holly?" Foaly said through her earpiece, "Can I see you now? It's urgent."

Holly gave a huge sigh before giving her reply. "All right, I'll be there in a sec."

Minutes later, she was down in Foaly's lab, standing right beside him.

"That wasn't exactly a second, Holly," happened to be Foaly's form of greeting.

"Okay, I know, so let's get on with it."

Foaly tried to grin, but what really happened was that he was just showing a bunch of horsey teeth, "I knew I could count on you. Commander root will join us in a while."

Holly groaned, Root had just screamed at her that morning for being a second late for work, and she didn't think he would be in the best of mood just then.

A huge shout, followed by a few more shouts announced Commander Roots arrival. Holly pitied whoever was out there facing him. A few hysterical sobs where heard shortly after. The Commander had that kind of effect on people, even the guys. It didn't help that a few of them were barely out of their diapers.

"Stupid bunch of..." he spluttered.

Holly and foaly exchanged amused smiles. The Commander in a temper, although more than often enough, was still a sight to behold.

"Well, what's wrong Foaly? If you're thinking about another budget increase..."

"No, no, nothing of that sort, Julius."

"Right then..."

Foaly had called him by his first name, and not just to annoy him either. Whatever it was was probably important, to a certain extent.

"So Foaly..."

"Right, I'm getting to it!"

Foaly went over to his desk and grabbed a remotey kinda devide off it. Seconds later, a high quality version of a news report which took place hours ago appeared on a huge screen.

_TDH News Flash? : blah blah blah... Stephen Io... blah blah blah... found in Antarctica... blah... well - known... blah -_

"So, Foaly, what's this about?"

Foaly put his fingers to his lips, the universal language to ask someone to shut up politely.

_- described it as a... blah blah blah... dragon treasure... (news achor smothers a laugh)... now in intensive care...blah... huge cuts which seemed to have healed overnight...blah blah... now lets move on to..._

"Why, that stupid dragon! That's not good, is it?"

"No, of course not. If those mudmen take this for real, they may very well decide to go after it, and..."

Root nodded gravely. It could well lead to the discovery of Haven.

"Hey, wait a second..." said Holly quizzically. "We're talking about dragons, those mythical creatures with wings? They're not real, are they? This could be some stupid thing the mud – "

"They are real, Holly."

Holly looked at the Commander with a weird look on her face, it was really shock.

A joke coming from the Commander? I must be going mad, Holly thought.

"They are real," he repeated.

Holly pinched herself.

"I SAID THEY ARE REAL! D'YOU HEAR ME CAPTAIN?" Root roared.

That woke Holly up, "Yes sir, loud and clear!"

The next few minutes passed like a blur, with Foaly and Commander Root taking turns at telling the unbelievable tale. The Commander was remarkably patient.

"So... you're telling me that there is another group of magical creatures we don't know of, leaving apart from us? And that they're not supposed to reveal themselves to the mud people because of some confidentiality agreement?" Holly ventured, then adding, "Is this an April's Fools Day joke?"

"Yes to the agreement and no to the other two," Foaly replied, "Technically, there are only two dragons, and this is not a joke."

Holly looked at Roots face. They didn't seem to be lying. The tale still seemed unbelievable. Nevertheless...

"Right, so tell me what I should do..."


	4. A New Hurdle

Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Artemis Fowl, Or Any Of Its Characters etc. (basically, don't sue)

A/N: edited this chapter. Still not too good, bear with me because I couldnt change it too much and botch up the story. bear with me!

**Artemis Fowl: The Dragon Hunt**.

**Chapter 2 : The First Hurdle (sort of, dunno why)**

Artemis was in a good mood.

His days on the computer had certainly proved to be well spent - they always were. Artemis stretched his arms slightly and gave a big yawn. Slowly and quietly, he made his way to his room, well aware of the time. It would not do him any good for his parents to know how late he stayed up – unless they knew it already.

However, Artemis doubted it. They were probably fast asleep already as it was.

Hence, he was surprised to find his father, fast-asleep, waiting for him in his room. Walking over to his father, he gently shook him awake.

"Ahh... Arty, I've been waiting for you", Artemis Senior said softly. Then, turning to the clock, he added with a frown on his face, "And for quite some time too." Artemis wondered how long his father had been waiting for him.

"I was doing some research for, uh, my... studies. I mean, school... I haven't really… "

"School, yes, that's what I've been wanting to talk to you about."

Artemis looked quizzically at his father for a moment, then it dawned on him. (took some time, huh...)

Artemis shot a mildly horrified look at his father. Of course, he had always known that this day would come, but at this time? It would most certainly disrupt his plans on the dragon project.

"Father, you're not thinking of sending me to boarding school are you" Artemis asked, with a slight hint of annoyance in his voice.

"I didn't say _boarding school_, Arty." Artemis Senior replied, a small smile forming on his lips as he noticed the annoyance. "You will only be sent to a normal school somewhere in the neighborhood, where you will learn to be a normal boy like everyone else. The new school term starts next week and you will start school then. A fair amount of time to prepare."

Then, giving Artemis an encouraging, and slightly amused smile, Artemis Senior walked out of the room.

Artemis watched his father leave the room. A complication had arisen at the worst time possible. Maybe he should just forget the whole idea? Artemis shook himself slightly. What was he thinking? He was (is?) Artemis Fowl the Second and there lay no problem which he could not solve.

But, he would leave that for tomorrow. Sleep seemed highly inviting at the moment.

sorry, I know it's super short... I doubt more than 400 words... I suppose I'll make a longer chapter after this...


	5. Different People

Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Artemis Fowl, Or Any Of Its Characters etc. (basically, don't sue)

A/N: Sorry about the long update, I had no spare time to spend on the com what with the start and school and everything. Can't say what I feel about this chapter… it does not quite sounds like me for some reason. R R please :D.

**Artemis Fowl: The Dragon Hunt**

**Chapter 5: Different People**

Artemis scrutinized his reflection in the mirror. He was wearing a black turtleneck and a pair of jeans. He had to admit that he looked good – much better than he did in Armani, anyway. However, he did not look as intimidating as he had hoped to be. Artemis did not like that. He had to show everyone else he was not someone to be messed with.

"Arty?"

Artemis turned around in surprise. He had not heard his father come in.

"You'd better hurry up, or you'll miss the bus!"

Artemis nodded and headed towards the door. Halfway, he stopped, and walked towards his bedside table. There, he removed the silver watch that had been on his wrist, and replaced it with the Mickey Mouse watch his mother had given to him the day before. She would be pleased.

Grabbing his bag, he made his way down the stairs. He met his mother at the bottom. Angeline Fowl smiled when she saw the watch and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. Then, she stuffed a sandwich into his hand and pushed him out of the doors. Artemis looked around for signs of his father, but was disappointed. He smirked. Maybe they were trying to make him more independent than he already was.

"Arty! You forgot your pencil case!" Angeline Fowl came rushing out, pencil case in hand.

Artemis stopped in dead his tracks. Slightly embarrassed, he took it and tossed it and the sandwich into his bag which he had forgotten to zip. He was not nervous. What was life in anew school in the neighborhood, anyway? It was just that he wasn't used to having a pencil case, really. A keyboard was so much more convenient.

Artemis was at the bus stop ten minutes early. He glanced at his watch. It was pretty _cute. _He wondered what that word meant. Artemis sighed and wondered if that was what happened if you had a normal life. He was not even going to St. Bartleby's anymore. Just one in the neighborhood where he would me missing around with middle-class kids. He even had to take a public bus so he could 'associate' more with others as his father put it. He could not even have Butler.

Artemis pulled a keychain out of his jean pocket. It was from Juliet and she had insisted he brought it to school for good luck. Reading the words on it, he could not resist a smile. 'I'M SMART, YOU'RE NOT.' Maybe thing would not be so bad, after all. What was more, he also had a revolver – courtesy of Butler – in his pocket.

Artemis pushed the keychain back into his pocket just as the bus rolled up. He boarded the bus and spotted an empty seat beside a dumb looking boy near the back of the bus. He walked over to it and sat down. Artemis noticed that the boy was staring at him. A couple of minutes passed, but the boy still did not turn away. Unnerved, Artemis turned towards him and asked, "How may I help you?"

"I'm Bully Edwards," the boy replied.

Artemis sighed. He hoped everyone in his school was not going to be like that.

"I asked if you needed help – not your name."

Bully Edwards, who was in fact a school menace, was not used to being spoken to in such a way. Usually, the kids just saw him and ran. Nobody even dared come near him – those we did learned never to do so again. The kid was probably new in the neighborhood and did not know the rules, Bully thought. Well, he would show him.

"Hey, I don't like people talking to me like that!"

Artemis smiled at him. He had better be careful. This guy was even dumber than Pex and Chips put together or one of them alone. He had taken four minutes to answer the last question alone. Artemis suddenly wished that butler was by his side. The kid beside him looked as if he did not care for rules, if there were any at all. He had better tread carefully from then on.

"Of course I know you do not like to be talked to in such a way. I did not mean it in the way that you thought I meant it in. I could always move to a different if you want." Artemis crossed his fingers and hoped for the best.

Bully scratched his head. Long sentences confused him. Finally, he decided the best way to answer Artemis.

"Sure!"

Bully smiled and silently congratulated himself. That way, nobody would know if he had understood what the new kid had said or not. Brilliant.

Meanwhile, Artemis had moved to a seat beside an ugly kid with braces. It was five seats in front of Bully Edwards who was still smiling to himself. Artemis realized that the boy beside him was staring at him also. His mouth was hanging open. Artemis wondered if everyone in the bus all behaved oddly. This boy was thankfully a faster thinker. Realizing that he looked foolish, he immediately closed his mouth.

"Hi. I'm… uh… Jerry Kidd… yeah."

Artemis sighed. Not that again.

"Er… I… uhh…" Jerry mumbled. "It was… you were really cool, speaking up to Bully like that. You even got away with it!"

Artemis nodded and looked away. Not another word was exchanged throughout the entire trip. Presently, the bus pulled over. Artemis looked out the window and was not at surprised to see that his new school was not even half the size of St. Bartleby's. He had seen the pictures on the internet. It was supposedly a small, close-knit school. Artemis got off the bus and headed for class.


	6. Chapter 6: Miss Ingham

Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Artemis Fowl, Or Any Of Its Characters etc. (basically, don't sue) 

A/N: Sorry about the super long update again :D. Stupid school takes up all my time, but my tests are over and the hols are coming so I guess I should have more time now :).

**Artemis Fowl: The Dragon Hunt**

**Chapter 6: Ms. Ingham**

School was a bore - as usual. Artemis looked at his watch. There was still another 10 minutes to go until his next lesson. Every minute he spent in school was a minute wasted, and he seriously regretted allowing himself to be sent to a normal school. At least in St. Bartlebys he was allowed to mind his own business while the rest of the class sat and listened to whatever was being taught that day.

He had had Chemistry in the lab where the teacher blew up his own experiment.

He had had Ancient History, which was really a pack of lies.

He was having Advanced Math where his teacher was teaching probability, which Artemis felt really should not have been in the syllabus at all. It was all to easy. But then, everything was too easy.

Artemis looked at his watch again.

2 minutes left.

1 minute.

30 second... 20... 10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...

Artemis waited for the bell to ring.

And it rang, exactly 2 seconds later.

Artemis glanced at his time-table. It was Philosophy next. He had never had that before, but no doubt, it would not amount to much.

"Psst. Artemis."

Artemis turned to look at the kid who had whispered to him. It was the same kid he had met in the bus this morning. Kidd, if he remembered correctly.

"Yes?"

"Hey, I'm leaving now, wanna come along?"

Artemis shot him a quizzical look.

"Skip class?"

"Yeah, almost everyone does that, anyway. Philosophy's trash, it's not like those you might have anywhere else. It's just... weird."

Artemis thought about it. If he were to take Kidd seriously, it would mean the class would be pretty much empty, and he might be able do some work without anyone prying. He would just have to be careful with the teacher. Outside, he would probably have to deal with the like of Bully Edwards who had been staring at him pretty fiercely through out the class. He could do without the distraction.

"So... wanna come? Ms. Ingham doesn't mind us skipping."

"No. I will stay for the lesson."

Kidd looked slightly crest fallen.

"Um, then I guess I'll stay here with you. Yeah. I don't usually skip this class anyway... Bully..."

"I can offer you no protection from Bully, so I'd prefer if you left me alone."

Kidd was slightly taken aback, and made his way to a seat away from Artemis. Kidd had just sat down when a middle-aged woman burst into the class. She was tall, with long, wavy black hair which ended at her shoulders. She was not very pretty, but extremely fair and looked pretty friendly.

She smiled at the class.

"Good morning class!"

A few people smiled, some looked bored, and nobody said 'good morning' back to her.

She walked over to the board in front and wrote in huge, cursive handwriting the word, 'Dragons', before turning back to the class.

"I'm sure most of you have heard the news recently about the sighting of a dragon somewhere in Antarctica. Hence, the topic we will be discussing for the next few lessons would be on the existence of dragons!"

Artemis was paying extremely careful attention. Dragons... this lesson might not turn out to be that boring after all. Miss Ingham was now giving out handouts on the topic. When she got to Artemis' desk, she stopped and looked at him closely.

"Are you new here?"

"Yes."

"I thought so, I'm Miss Ingham, as you should probably know by now, what's your name?"

"Artemis."

"Fowl?"

"Yes."

"I thought so. I've heard about you before... well, I hope you find the lesson interesting!"

Artemis stared at her as she walked away.


End file.
